<p> In a post Christendom Canada, the church finds itself in a place where it must turn to the biblical witness and discern theologically about the course of the church in an ever changing society. This thesis explores passages that speak about the incarnation such as John 1:14, and the Christ Hymn in Philippians (Phil 2:6-11) and points out that the incarnation is a testimony of the missional nature, and work of God. This thesis also expands upon this point to develop an understanding of how the church today can be described as incarnational. The remainder of the study is devoted to understanding the critical role of leadership in cultivating an incarnational church, and developing the incarnational leadership model needed for it. The model explores what it means for a leader to live incarnationally, and provides a framework for how it shapes their life, ministry and congregations.</p> / Thesis / Master of Divinity (M.Div)

The purpose of this dissertation is to prompt ecclesial imagination for the sake of envisioning and reshaping contemporary ecclesiology and church practice in more liberative forms. The thesis is that non-dominant theologies and historical narratives are sources that prompt ecclesial imagination and can potentially reshape ecclesiology and church practice. *Feminist Ecclesiology and a Liberating Counterhistory analyzes and interprets two such non-dominant sources in two case studies: *feminist ecclesiological writing on the church from the 1968 to 2020, and the archeological evidence of ancient Iron Age I Hebrew highland settlements, which pre-date biblical narratives and support a counter-narrative to conquest, namely a non-militaristic response to empire and societal collapse. This dissertation utilizes the term *feminist to indicate the full range of white feminist, womanist, mujerista, Latin American, African, and Asian women’s ecclesiologies. The asterisk is meant to disrupt the totalizing tendency of the generic term feminist to imply only white feminist perspectives. The review of literature and textual analysis of *feminist ecclesiological discourses reveal four prominent conceptual themes, identified as four marks of the *feminist church: holistic, incarnate, utopic, and apostolic. The study of the highland settlements focuses on archeological findings, such as Iron Age I pottery, building foundations, and other material artifacts. A *feminist analysis of the settlements uncovers a liberative counterhistory that contrasts with genocidal and militaristic narrations of the origins of the Hebrew people in Canaan, such as found in Joshua 1-11. Although the two case studies are drawn across great expanses of time and in different cultural settings, a close look reveals important resonances that make them a congruent pairing, albeit unexpected. Individually, they have much to offer towards ecclesial imagination. Interpreted together, the two cases are grounded in the depths of historical tradition, and offer nuanced critiques and imagination for the present, while simultaneously reaching towards an alternative future. The dissertation concludes with integrative insights that demonstrate how the highland settlement evidence can augment the *feminist marks of the church. Building upon these discoveries, the final chapter offers five principles of practice, suggesting ways that the cases and their integrative interpretation can prompt ecclesial imagination and practices for the future church.